1) ESB because it has not only the "Imperial March/Darth Vader's Theme" but also "Yoda's theme", "Han Solo and The Princess", and "Attacking the Star Destroyer", the most well rounded of all in my opinion.

2)TPM because it has "Duel of the Fates", an AWESOME song. Also many of the prequel set up music, including "Anakin's Theme" and also loved the "Gungan Celebration" music

3)AOTC because of "Across the Stars" and "Zam Weasells" theme, also the blending of the two trilogies

4)ROTJ because of all the end music (all themes from Luke vs. Vader) as well as the Endor Celebration, but most of all "Luke and Leis"

5)ANH. Not bad of course, but had to set up for what would later be awesome. The Force Theme and Award Ceremony are classics though.

For some reason I just really love TPM's soundtrack more than the others. I guess my favorite tracks off it would be Queen Amidala and The Naboo Palace (so mysterious and stately) and Anakin Defeats Sebulba. The latter is one of my favorites because it's always played on the last lap of the Nintendo 64 Pod Racing video game...ahh, the happy hours I've wasted on that (but hey, I got really good at it!).

1. RotJ. All the OT themes have already been introduced and here John Williams is free to really develop them. Highlights are the Emperor's arrival on the Death Star, Yoda's death, the Luke-Vader duel, and Vader's funeral pyre.

2. TPM. Great primarily because of Duel of the Fates. Unfortunately, parts of the soundtrack sound a little bland. Very different in some ways from the OT soundtracks; less brazen and more refined. Highlights are the invasion of Naboo, some of the Anakin-related material on Tatooine, Duel of the Fates (of course), and the Emperor's theme in Augie's Band.

3. ESB. A very cohesive score, strikingly well paced with the film. Fewer highlights than some of the others, but more consistently good. Highlights are Yoda and the Force, the Carbon Freeze Chamber, and Hyperspace.

4. ANH. More bold and innovative than any of the others. Less filler and more melody, in general. Fewer themes though (no Imperial March), and no high spots comparable to those in RotJ or TPM. Highlights are the Cantina Band, Binary Sunset, Battle of Yavin, and Throne Room.

5. AotC. Not bad - just not quite as good as the others. "Across the Stars" (what an inappropriate title) is excellent, among Williams's best themes. Much of the rest of it sounds a lot like the weaker sections of TPM, though - if "weak" can be used to describe something that's only marginally less than sublime, that is. Highlights are the Trade Federation theme in the cloning facility, the Force theme/DotF on Tatooine, and the Imperial March and love theme leading into the end credits.

The TPM and AOTC scores are REALLY weak in comparison to the whole OT music I'm sad to say. BUT, they are still good scores. Much of Williams' other music however, as for Shindler's list, Superman, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the lost ark, are SO much better than these two scores, I think.

Best themes (this is a tough one):

1. Luke and Leia (ROTJ)
2. Imperial March (TESB) (Although "The Emperor arrives" version from ROTJ is the best version of the theme)
3. Asteroid Field (TESB)
4. City in the clouds (when the Falcon approaches Cloud City) (TESB)
5. The Dark Side Beckons (ROTJ)
6. Binary Sunset (ANH)
7. Leia's theme (ANH)

Well, for a score from start to finish, I must agree with what Jeff said. John Williams' effort on The Empire Strikes Back is nothing short of brilliant, through and through.

All of the other scores have their brilliant moments, however. ANH set up some of the classic themes, and features Binary Sunset and The Battle Of Yavin (and, of course, Cantina Band!).

The second half of ROTJ rivals any other film. Before the release of the SE cds, I used to fast forward my VHS copy just to listen to The Dark Side Beckons over and over. (The visuals were ok too. )

TPM is strong with DOTF and the TF theme. And AOTC, though mangled in the editing room, has ATS and some brilliant moments on Tatooine and Coruscant. (And terrific "minor" themes associated with Kamino and the Separatists.)

ESB is by far (technically speaking) the most complex and introduces us to the most memorable "bad guy theme" besides Jaws in the "Imperial March". It also has the "brightest" opening entrance of all the films so far (TPM comes close). TPM's "Dual of the Fates" is a beautiful piece of music... too bad the rest is incidental - much like AOTC IMO. ANH cannot be overlooked as it introduced us to perhaps the most heroic themes ever heard in cinema up to that point. ROTJ did such a good job of building mood with the "Emperor's Theme" and the end "Celebration Theme" was a nice change with it's choral work.

When it comes to quality, innovation, function in the context of the film, and listenability as a music album ''Empire'' is the king of fantasy/action/sci-fi scores, Star Wars or not.

However, the SW album I like the most nowadays is AOTC. It's the most serious in tone, since Williams seems to embrace a more dramatic approach as opposed to a space opera melodrama one (just compare the new love theme with ''Solo and the Princess'')